Handout: Give everyone the Learning Objectives Word Search to take home and complete. Words in puzzle correlate to Learning Objectives Verb List. Word puzzle created for free through Discover Education.

Practice: Have students practice creating SMART learning objectives for a sample class using active verbs and the KFD principle.

Developing an outline

Refer back to the Sample Instructional Outline from earlier.

Talk about the reasons for creating an outline for a class. Compare it to having a road map – it is always good to plan your route, but you can always change it along the way.

Link outline to objectives by creating “chunks” of content. This allows for flexibility, and keeps the design focused on the outcomes. Chunks can easily be rearranged and altered. This is just one way to do it.

When planning out content, take different learning styles into account, include different delivery techniques. Try to include some type of interactivity in each chunk, whether it is practice, discussion, or problem solving.

Handout: Have everyone review the Active Training Techniques worksheet. If time allows, give them a chance to brainstorm or discuss how they might incorporate active training techniques into a workshop.

Instructional Outline Activity

Part 1 (10 minutes): Work individually to come up with at least one learning objective for your class. Then get into small groups and share your learning objectives. Discuss the learning objectives you came up with. How did you choose the verb? Are the objectives SMART?

Part 2 (10 minutes): Work individually to outline at least one learning objective for your class. Then get into pairs and share your learning objectives. Discuss the activities and delivery methods you chose. Why did you choose them? Do they address multiple learning styles?

Part 3 (10 minutes): Share

Develop: Creating Effective Handouts

Discuss (have students brainstorm) why handouts are helpful to learning: note taking, provides important information, helps instructor prepare, addresses different learning styles, can include activities, gives students a guide to refer back to later, etc.

Go over basic design tips. Remind everyone you do not have to be a graphic designer, but to keep things simple.

Only use one font, never more than 3

Use a legible font size

Use color, but use it tastefully

Resize graphics correctly

Don’t put too much information

Talk about sharing materials with colleagues. If you put all that time into creating a handout, at least others can use it too.

Group work: Take a handout example and discuss. What is good about it? How could you improve it? What would you do differently?

Practice (longer activity, 10-15 minutes): Use computers (Publisher or Word) to start designing a single page handout as a group. What do you need to include? What is the best way to lay out the handout? Make sure everyone contributes in some way.

Evaluating, reviewing, revising

Note: We skip the “I” in ADDIE - I is for implementation, which is covered in another workshop (Teaching Technology: Classroom Instruction)

Discuss why evaluations are important: Did you get your point across? Did you meet the objectives of the class? Help measure success.

Always good to ask for feedback at the end of class, and an evaluation allows people to do that anonymously.

When designing surveys, try to have a mix of qualitative and quantitative questions. Most surveys just gauge people’s satisfaction, but you can also create surveys that tie to learning objectives of the class to see if people learned something new.

Use survey results to improve future classes, but don’t take one really bad review to seriously. Sometimes you just have a really negative person in your class. Compare the results to your perception of how the class went, and use it as a guide to improve your teaching skills.

It is also important to review the class material before teaching again, to adapt to changes in technology, or to improve the class. Make sure handouts are up to date as well. Did the original class have too much information? Too little? Was it too difficult or too easy?